The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has a new president, Faruque Ahmed, a former cricket player and head selector, in place of Nazmul Hasan Papon, who resigned due to political upheaval in the nation.
Ahmed, fifty-eight, was elected on Wednesday at the BCB’s extraordinary meeting.
Papon, who was serving his fourth term, and his spouse had moved to London in the wake of the national political turbulence, which started with a massive student demonstration against job quotas.
This led to the overthrow of the Awami League dictatorship headed by Sheikh Hasina, and despite the installation of an interim government, there has been widespread violence.
Papon began serving as an Awami League member in 2009. On August 5, he and sixteen other directors departed Dhaka.
“I resigned as a selector in the past because I opposed the system. Now, I aim to create a system that can run the board smoothly,” Faruque was quoted as saying by ‘Cricbuzz’ on Wednesday.
Between 1988 and 1999, Faruque participated in seven One-Day Internationals for Bangladesh. He also held the position of BCB chief selector for two years, from 2003 to 2007 and from 2013 to 2016. He disagreed with the selection procedure and resigned before serving out his second term.
Ahmed and a well-known local coach Nazmul Abedin were named the National Sports Council’s (NSC) new directors, taking the place of Jalal Yunus and Ahmed Sajjadul Alam. They attended the board of directors meeting at the Ministry of Youth and Sports after the announcement.
Directors Mahbubul Anam, former cricket players Akram Khan and Khaled Mahmud, Salauddin Ahmed, Kazi Inam Ahmed, Iftekhar Ahmed, and Fahim Sinha were present at the meeting.
The new temporary administration of Bangladesh this week gave Shakib Al Hasan, an Awami League legislator, permission to play Pakistan in a two-match Test series.
“We will discuss Shakib’s situation and whether he can continue under the current circumstances. We are also considering adding rules regarding player conduct during tours, including restrictions on endorsements,” Faruque said.
Before the 2023 World Cup, Tamim Iqbal, who had a falling out with Shakib, made his final appearance for Bangladesh in a home ODI series against New Zealand. However, Faruque supported the opener to play for a few more years.
“Tamim is a sensible player and one of the best from Bangladesh. Personally, if you ask me, I would want him to play for two-three more years. But me wanting that doesn’t mean it will happen. We will have to see what his fitness is like and we have to see which formats will be feasible. Tests maybe difficult but it’ll be good if it’s ODIs,” he said.
The recently appointed BCB president restated his position about Chandika Hathurusingha’s dismissal as the national head coach.
“I am not sure about the details of the contract with Chandika Hathurusingha. I am still in the same place I was before. I haven’t deviated from what I said (I will not keep Chandika if elected as BCB president),” he said.
“Now, I need to formally review some things. I will see how things should be done, whether we can find someone better or at least someone who can perform well, and then I will talk. I haven’t really moved from that (last) stance.
Hathurusingha’s contract runs till 2025 Champions Trophy but he has already expressed his willingness to step down if the BCB no longer requires his services.
